Philly DA Wants to Void Death Penalty: The District Attorney of Philadelphia has petitioned the state supreme court to hold the state's death penalty unconstitutional. Julie Shaw of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Larry Krasner, a former defense attorney elected in 2017, has filed a brief in a capital case before the state's highest court, arguing that the justices should utilize the King's Bench power to strike down the death penalty law due to systemic problems. At a press conference Krasner, joined by defense attorneys and anti death penalty legislators, told reporters that the state's death penalty is racially biased, arbitrary and discriminates against the poor. The Pennsylvania Attorney General responded that the problems Krasner attributes to the state's death penalty law are matters of policy which should be addressed by the legislature, not the courts. It should be noted that Krasner was elected with over $1.4 million in contributions from liberal hedge-fund billionaire George Soros.
"El Chapo" Gets Life: Notorious drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in New York today as reported by Nicole Hong and Acacia Coronado of the Wall Street Journal. The former head of the largest drug cartel in the world was convicted last February of multiple charges including murder and drug trafficking. At sentencing he told the court that he was denied a fair trial and that the U.S. is "no different than any other corrupt country." He will probably be sent to the federal "supermax" prison in Colorado, home to the nation's most dangerous federal criminals. Hasta la vista baby.
Krasner was elected with 75% of the votes, having made clear his opposition to the death penalty. It's called democracy. Sorry it did not work out the way you wanted. Also, the AG's response appears to acknowledge the massive problems Krasner points out. That concession means that the courts do have to halt the death penalty. The legislature is then free to try to fix the problems.
• DA Larry Krasner gives up fight in more death-row appeals,
stirring concern from courts, families
• Under Krasner, these inmates have received or may get
the DA’s nod to be removed from death row
Fuzzy,
If I were "elected with 75% of the votes", would you similarly deign to grant me
your facile assent, or is it merely the penalty for aggravated murder you find
so is classist and racially biased?
For surely the arbitrary, racist, and bourgeois nature of the defense of such
convicts is equivalent to that of petit thieves and child rapists.
You certainly must advocate for a similarly thorough study as this, in which, “supervisors in his Law Division reviewed every case in which a Philadelphia
defendant was sentenced to death over 40 years", correct?